Zubin Mehta launches his biography

World-renowned orchestra conductor Zubin Mehta launched a biography based on his life and work on Friday.

Titled Zubin Mehta: A Musical Journey by Bakhtiar Dadabhoy, the book narrates the story of nearly six decades of the maestro’s career.

Mehta will turn 80 on April 29.

“Well, I couldn’t have dreamt that this book could exist until last year when Bakhtiar reached me. I cooperated with him. We spoke many times over the phone and then it happened,” Mehta told reporters here at the book launch.

Dadabhoy said Mehta initially wasn’t too keen: “This man led a very interesting life. I wrote to him asking if I could write a book about him and he said: ‘No, I just wrote an autobiography, I don’t see the need for another book.”

And so, Dadabhoy said, “In December 2014, I thought a biography on his 80th birthday in 2016 would not be a bad idea. I contacted him again and he agreed. I started updating the book, rewriting it. He then corrected a few things.”

Mehta said, “When I went through the book, I thought it was incredibly well-researched. I don’t know from where he got those facts but most of it is correct and I was very impressed.”

Mehta, who was born in Mumbai and is now a permanent resident of the United States, retains his Indian citizenship. When asked how it feels to be back in Mumbai, he said,

“It’s like I never left. But every time I come, I get frustrated with the condition of the city. When I lived in Cuff Parade, it was heavenly.”